Sonnet Slam

Sonnet Slam

Past Event

Saturday, 23 April 2016 - 2:30pm to 4pm

Judged by members of the audience, one will be crowned - The 2016 Bard of Sydney.

Hear performing writers howl at the ghosts of the Elizabethan era with their own original iambic pentameter. Long before the constraints of 140 characters, there were 14 lines in a b a b / c d c d / e f e f / g g. Celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death with freshly brewed sonnets performed live in a poetry slam.

Hosted by Australian Poetry Slam Champion - Phil Wilcox.

Featuring Shakespeare’s great x 10 grandson Lewis-Alan Trathen*

*not actually related to William Shakespeare

Signing Up To Perform:

Your sonnet must be original work and must adhere to the Shakespearean Sonnet structure, line-count and rhyme scheme.

Unlike a regular poetry slam, your work will be judged on three things: Performance, Writing and Sonnet Structure

Open registration for those who would like to perform is available for the first 10 applicants who purchase a Sign Up To Perform ticket type.

Prizes for winning performers;

First place prize: A double pass to Bell Shakespeare's Othello

Second place prize: A double pass to Sydney Theatre Company's A Midsummer Night's Dream

Lewis-Alan Trathen

Lewis-Alan is a poet and spoken word performer currently studying English Literature at the University of New South Wales and is well aware of his employment opportunities or lack thereof thank you very much. Lewis was finalist in the 2015 NSW Poetry Slam.

When not buried under conspicuous amounts of university work, Lewis-Alan enjoys long walks at night, deafening concerts and forgetting people’s names.

His works explore natural and industrial landscapes, culture and existentialism, the grotesque, and language itself. His debut chapbook Dear Green Eyes was released in 2015 and his poetry was most recently published in Unsweetened 2015.

Philip Wilcox

Multi-award winning poet, Philip Wilcox, is the current Australian Poetry Slam Champion and a two time NSW Poetry SlamChampion. Philip hosts and co-organises Three Poets Speak– a Sydney showcase of the finest spoken word artists from around Australia. He has featured in major events like Sydney Writers' Festival, Wollongong Writers' Festival and Newtown Festival, where he performed for a crowd of over 8,000. He recently returned from a tour of mainland China.

Philip is also a playwright. He co-wrote and directed Thursday - the most popular production of the 2013 Sydney Fringe Comedy Festival.

By day he is a children’s entertainer and studying to be a school teacher. By night he shares the stage with hip hop artists and poets like Omar Musa, Luka Lesson and Solo (Horrorshow).